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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26692069">Apprehension</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyberchaos/pseuds/cyberchaos'>cyberchaos</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bad Parent Gabriel Agreste, Chat Noir Félix, Child Neglect, F/M, Felix is an Agreste, Fluff, Kidnapping (by a supervillain), Light Angst, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Self Confidence Issues</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:34:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,105</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26692069</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyberchaos/pseuds/cyberchaos</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"What are you getting from this?" Felix demanded, and she had the nerve to look surprised. "Why are you being so... kind to me? What do you want?"</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alya Césaire &amp; Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug &amp; Félix (PV), Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Félix (PV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>199</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. burden</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Light poured into Felix's bedroom from the tall, floor to ceiling windows. The digital alarm clock sitting on his bedside table screeched, and he resisted the urge to throw it across the room. His eyes went to the school uniform neatly folded on his nightstand, still adjusting to the bright room. The day he'd anticipated for what felt like an eternity had finally arrived—the first day of school. Actual, face-to-face school. The kind of school Felix had only seen in movies. The kind he had been deprived of since childhood.</p><p> </p><p>It had only taken several years of begging his father in order to get to this point. He didn't plan on wasting his youth away in his father's mansion. Gabriel Agreste expected him to be the perfect child--the composed, intelligent, perfect Felix entirely devoted to his father. He was starting to crack under the pressure, and he knew that if he didn't leave this house he'd soon go mad.</p><p> </p><p>After buttoning up his collared shirt and fixing his dress pants, he slid his blazer on and tightened his tie. He messed with his hair in the mirror before heading down to meet his driver. Muttering a 'good morning', he got in the backseat of his car. There he sat through what felt like the longest car ride of his life. He knew he shouldn't have his hopes so high, it was very unlikely that his father would let him finish this year in person.</p><p> </p><p>He deserved at least a taste of the life of a normal teenage boy, the kind who wasn't forced to stay in his house at all hours of the day. The kind whose only chance to socialize wasn't business parties.</p><p> </p><p>He was finally here, at the stairs leading up to the private high school Natalie selected: Collège Françoise Dupont. He made his way up the stairs and into the main building. The layout of the building was simple enough, it was no trouble finding his classroom. As soon as he stepped foot into the room, the last person he wanted to see jumped on him and hugged him so tight he stopped breathing.</p><p> </p><p>"Fee-fee!" the blonde girl squealed, then turned around so fast that she slapped him in the face with her ponytail. She gestured to one of the chairs at a long desk fit for two, "You're a couple hours late, I had to eat lunch without you! Well, don't worry, I saved you a seat right in front of me!"</p><p> </p><p>"It's <em>Felix</em>, Chloé. How can you not get that after seven years of knowing me?" he said, and reluctantly took a seat, lacking the energy to argue with her. Of the dozens of schools in Paris, Natalie just <em>had </em>to choose the one Chloé Bourgeois attended.</p><p> </p><p>His eyes turned to the boy sitting beside him, who had headphones resting around his neck. "Aren't you that model guy?" the boy asked, fixing his red cap, "I've think seen you on billboards and perfume commercials--" he stopped in the middle of his sentence, his eyes fixed on Chloé.</p><p> </p><p>Felix turned to see what she was up to and wrinkled his nose. There she was, sticking a wad of gum to their classmate's seat as if they were petty grade-school children.</p><p> </p><p>"That's disgusting, Chloé--" He was interrupted by a dark-haired girl with twin-tails sliding the door open, "Hey!" she pointed a finger at Chloé, "What do you think you're doing?" She was livid, her face red and her hands balled up into fists.</p><p> </p><p>The twin-tail girl was going to say something else, but a classmate ran in and announced, "<em>'T</em><em>eacher's coming!</em>"</p><p> </p><p>The classroom quieted down and the twin-tail girl had no other choice but to sit down on the side of a bench that didn't have gum. She was sitting by herself, her seatmate presumably absent today.</p><p> </p><p>Chloé giggled and went back to her seat. Felix rolled his eyes and drew his attention back to the front of the classroom. A woman, presumably his homeroom teacher, set her things down on her desk before scribbling her name down on the chalkboard. <em>Ms. Bustier</em><em>.</em></p><p> </p><p>She clasped her hands together and smiled, "Happy first day of school! I'm gonna start by handing everyone their syllabus,"</p><p> </p><p>________________</p><p> </p><p>The final bell rang and the classroom erupted in chatter. As soon as Ms. Bustier left, Chloé and her ginger friend came up to the twin-tail girl they'd been previously tormenting.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Felix started to gather his belongings, as his driver was waiting for him out front. He watched the three girls in the corner of his eye as he shoved a book in his bag.</p><p> </p><p>"Marinette," Chloé looked her up and down and laughed, "Where'd you get that outfit? The garbage?" The classroom was empty except for the four of them at this point.</p><p> </p><p>Chloé's ginger friend giggled at the unoriginal insult, and Marinette's face went red. Felix half-expected her to cry, but she didn't.</p><p> </p><p>Marinette took her book bag and tried to leave, but Chloé blocked the door so she couldn't. He huffed, as he had to step in at this point.</p><p> </p><p>"Get out of the way, my driver's waiting for me." he told her, but Chloé took his hand, "You're not going to give me a ride home?" she asked with a pout.</p><p> </p><p>He would have shoved Chloé out of the way and left five minutes ago if it weren't for Marinette sneaking out behind Chloé. "What would I get out of that?" he asked, giving the girl a couple of seconds to run out of the classroom and down the stairs.</p><p> </p><p>"You would get to give a ride to the most gorgeous girl in France."</p><p> </p><p>"Where is she? I don't see her." he replied, "Now get out of the way." he repeated, and the girl blocking the door moved aside. He left at a pace too quick for Chloé to follow in her heels and made his way to the school entrance. When he was sure Chloe had lost sight of him, he slowed down, catching his breath.</p><p> </p><p>Most students had gone home or to their after-school clubs, though some still lingered in the cafeteria. The hallways were deserted, the only sound being his quiet footsteps. That is, before small, light footsteps started to approach him from behind.</p><p> </p><p>Before he could turn to see who was following him, Marinette seemingly appeared to his right. "Thanks for distracting Chloé back there so I could get away,"</p><p> </p><p>"That's not what I was doing." he assured her, but it sounded like an obvious lie even to his ears.</p><p> </p><p>Why <em>did</em> he do that? Why didn't he walk away?</p><p> </p><p>She smiled, clearly not believing him. "I don't think I properly introduced myself. I'm Marinette, and you are..?"</p><p> </p><p>He frowned. What, was she going to pretend she didn't know who he was? That he wasn't the son of one of the most influential people in Paris? "Felix. Ah, my driver is calling me. I'm sorry, I must go."</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. crowd</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Soft rain rolled off the glass of the cafeteria window with the utmost gentleness. It was far too early in the year for there to be a nip in the air, but Felix could see his breath when he walked out of the house. Above, the skies were gray, the sun hidden behind the clouds. Cars drove by with their headlights on, as fog filled the streets. It was something straight out of a painting.</p><p> </p><p>His eyes turned to the girl sitting in front of him, her blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail and her cellphone in her hand. He couldn't believe Chloé had managed to convince him to sit with her during lunch, but it was far too early in the morning to argue with the girl, and he would prefer to not make a scene in front of the entire student body. She was complaining about her hairdresser or something like that. Felix had tuned her out ten minutes ago. He pretended not to notice some of their classmates watching them, and looked down at his food in an attempt to distract himself.</p><p> </p><p>The meal in front of him sat on a metal tray, in the center lay some steamed cauliflower with cheese melting off, accompanied by a single piece of pan-seared chicken. A...<em>'fruit cup'</em>, as Chloé had called it, also sat untouched on the tray, along with a glass of orange juice.</p><p> </p><p>"Is this what students eat every day?" he muttered to himself and felt the table shift. He looked up from his food and was greeted by a girl he'd never seen before. She smiled, fixing her thick glasses. Her auburn hair, which was chopped off at shoulder-length, faded into a bold orange at the tips, "Hey, can we sit here?"</p><p> </p><p>Next to her stood the girl who he'd spoken with yesterday, her short dark hair resting on her shoulders, tied into twin tails. She held her lunch tray with both her hands, waiting for Chloé's response.</p><p> </p><p>"Can't you see Felix and I are having lunch together? You absolutely may <em>not</em>." Chloé remarked, "Don't think I've forgotten what you and your little friend said to me."</p><p> </p><p>"You don't own this lunch table, Chloé." Marinette reminded her, "The seats aren't assigned, either. We can sit wherever we'd like."</p><p> </p><p>"Fine, but don't speak to me or my boyfriend," she said, and Felix almost choked on his drink.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm <em>not </em>her boyfriend," he corrected, "We're childhood friends."</p><p> </p><p>He would never admit this to anyone, but for the last sixteen years, she's been the only friend he's ever had. Before Chloé's mother left to work in New York, and before his own mother passed, they would often have brunch together. Because of this, it became convenient to let Felix and Chloé spend time together.</p><p> </p><p>Chloé huffed, putting her fork down a bit too hard. What had she expected to happen? Felix would never go along with something like that.</p><p> </p><p>He managed to make himself try the cauliflower on his plate, and was surprised as to find out it wasn't half as bad as he thought it to be.</p><p> </p><p>"So, Felix, was it?" asked the girl he didn't know. "Like Felix Agreste?"</p><p> </p><p>"Yes! He's the son of the famous fashion designer Gabriel Agreste. He's a model <em>and </em>my best friend. He <em>adores </em>me." she said before he could say no, grabbing his hand. Marinette looked up from her food, looking genuinely surprised.</p><p> </p><p>How could she not know who he is? He'd seen his own face on at least four different billboards while driving to school.</p><p> </p><p>Though, he didn't appreciate people treating him as if he were an exhibit at a zoo.</p><p> </p><p>"You're a model?" Alya asked, a big smile on her face, "What's that like? Do you do photo shoots every day? How do you balance your modeling career and your schooling at the same time? I bet you're swimming in girls who want to date you."</p><p> </p><p>"Alya, you're making him uncomfortable." Marinette pointed out, and Alya gave her a sheepish grin. How she'd been able to read him, he didn't know. He'd kept a deadpan face the entire time.</p><p> </p><p>"I don't model on the daily, and I assume my schedule will have to be built around my schooling. Though I only follow what is on my schedule, someone else is in charge of managing those kinds of things." Felix explained, choosing to ignore the last bit.</p><p> </p><p>"You didn't deny the 'swimming in the girls' part." Alya pointed out, and he shot her a glare. "I'm kidding," she said with a smile and downed her iced tea.</p><p> </p><p>"So, since you're new and all," Marinette started, "Do you want me to walk you to class? I know this school can feel like a labyrinth sometimes."</p><p> </p><p>He considered her offer for a second. Why would she take time out of her day to help a stranger? Felix would have turned her down if it weren't for him helping her the other day. She must feel like she owed him and wished to pay back a favor. That was the only logical explanation he could think up.</p><p> </p><p>Chloé's face hardened, "I could walk him to class—"</p><p> </p><p>"I would appreciate that, Marinette, thank you."</p><p>____________________</p><p> </p><p>"I know that we're only on the second day of school," Ms. Bustier started, and Felix immediately knew she wasn't going to say anything good, "But I thought I would tell you all beforehand that a project is coming up."</p><p> </p><p>The entire class groaned in unison, "It's alright, it's only a short assignment you'll be able to complete in an afternoon. But, it <em>is</em> a group project." she explained, and several students perked up, "These will be groups of three, though there will be one group left with only two students. I'm handing out a sheet with the project instructions. Any questions?"</p><p> </p><p>A boy with red hair raised his hand, and Ms. Bustier nodded at him, "Do we get to choose our own groups?" he asked.</p><p> </p><p>"Yes," she answered, finishing up handing out the sheets, "If you can't find a group, I'll assign you one. You have the rest of the class to choose your groups and work on the project, but, be mindful that today is the only day I'm letting you work on this during class. You will have to work on this outside of school, so exchange phone numbers. Your presentation will be in three days, so... Friday."</p><p> </p><p>The moment she went back to her desk, the class erupted in chatter. A certain blonde girl looked back at him as if expecting him to beg to be apart of her group. He turned to his left to ask his seatmate, but he had already stood up to join another group. He felt a tap on his shoulder, and when he turned around he was greeted by Marinette and Alya.</p><p> </p><p>"Do you wanna join Alya and I's group?" she offered, "Or are you going to join Chloé?"</p><p> </p><p>"I'll join you two," he answered, not considering the second option for a second.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. zero</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"What do you <em>mean</em> you don't see it?" Felix deadpanned, his tone gone from polite to aggravated in the past fifteen minutes. Beside him, Marinette's eyes searched the people walking by for a familiar face. "I know you haven't been to the bakery before, but you only have to cross <em>one</em> street from the school, how <em>complicated</em> is that?"</p><p>"There is no bakery, Felix." Alya told him, punctuating every word. "I crossed the street you told me to cross and now I'm at a hotel. There is nothing remotely resembling a bakery around me." The phone in Felix's hand was taken by Marinette, who put it to her ear, "Do you see that big park?" she asked, and he had to assume Alya said yes, "Perfect, we'll meet you there, okay? From there, we can walk to the bakery together." she hung up and handed Felix his phone back.</p><p>"It's been more than twenty minutes, how hard is crossing a street?" he muttered to himself, a bit too loud, apparently, because Marinette rolled her eyes. She smiled, "Hey, give her a break. She just moved to Paris." she reminded him.</p><p>"I guess you're right..." he said as they approached a crosswalk.</p><p>The red countdown on one of the traffic lights was coming closer and closer to zero, and an elderly man crossing the street was less than halfway there.</p><p>The traffic light countdown turned to zero, and out of the corner of Felix's eye, he spotted a bright red car zooming towards the elderly man. The man seemed to have spotted it, too, because his face went white and he tried to scramble to the other side of the road.</p><p>His walking stick slipped from his grasp, and he fell forward onto the asphalt. The driver of the car hadn't seemed to have spotted him yet, because they didn't slow down. Felix was yelling at the driver to stop the car before he knew it.</p><p>The car swerved out of the way too late, and would have hit the man if it were not for Marinette running over and pulling him to the safety of the sidewalk. The driver didn't bother stopping to help the man, but instead picked up speed and left the area as fast as it could.</p><p>Felix scowled, <em>what a piece of garbage.</em></p><p>"Are you alright, sir?" he asked, turning his attention to the man on the floor, "Are you hurt? Do you need me to call an ambulance?"</p><p>"That won't be necessary, young man." he answered, getting to his feet and fixing his red Hawaiian shirt, "Thank you for your help, both of you."</p><p>He started to walk away, and the moment Felix decided he was out of earshot, he turned to his classmate, "What were you <em>thinking</em>? You could have gotten run over and killed, Marinette. In what world is <em>running into traffic</em> a good idea?"</p><p>She crossed her arms, "What was I <em>supposed</em> to do?"</p><p>"<em>Not</em> jump into traffic." he narrowed his eyes, "You put your life in danger for someone you don't know."</p><p>"I wasn't going to let him get <em>run over</em>, Felix." she told him, and her eyes went to the few people watching, "Let's get to the park, people are starting to stare."</p><p>After walking in silence for a while, they spotted an auburn-haired girl sitting on a bench by the entrance of the park, looking around as if expecting someone to show up. When her eyes landed on the both of them, she beamed and waved at them. "Over here!"</p><p>"Did you get a haircut?" asked Marinette, and Alya winked, "I did! Isn't it super cute?"</p><p>He squinted at his classmate. She looked exactly the same as she did every day, except for her casual clothes replacing her school uniform.</p><p>"Come on, I wanna finish this assignment by today, and Felix has to be home by five o'clock!" Alya told her classmates as they approached the bakery.</p><p>"Why five o'clock? " Marinette asked, walking by his side. He knitted his brows, "I have Chinese lessons at six. If I'm not home by the time my tutor arrives, my father will be notified and will be less than pleased. He thinks I'm home, you see."</p><p>Marinette nodded, pity evident in her expression as they stepped into the bakery, "We have about two hours, then. That should be enough time to finish the project. Hi, mom!" she waved at a woman behind the counter. She smiled and waved back, "Hey, kids!" she greeted, brushing a bit of powdered sugar off her arm. In front of her, in a glass display, were dozens of pastries—many which Felix had never even heard of.</p><p>"Hello," Felix greeted back, and Alya grinned at the woman, "Good morning, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng!"</p><p>Felix and Alya followed their classmate up the stairs, admiring her house. It seemed to be a mixed-use building—the second and third floor of the bakery being a regular house. On the second story was a living room and a kitchen, and the story on top of that had a hallway leading to what Felix could only assume was a bathroom and a master bedroom.</p><p>In the attic was Marinette's bedroom, where the walls were painted pastel pink. From the street, the attic looked much smaller than it actually was. It had a high ceiling, and the large windows let in more than plenty of natural light. Next to a full-length mirror was a sewing mannequin, which wore a half-finished dress.</p><p>"Your room is really pretty! These designs are super cute, too!" Alya pointed out as she examined the designs pinned to the bulletin board, and he nodded in agreement. Marinette blushed, "Thanks! I made them myself." she told her, and pushed what looked like a diary into a drawer.</p><p>He brought his attention back to Alya and realized she was looking at him as if awaiting an answer.</p><p>"Ah, did you say something?" he asked, and Alya snickered. "I said, let's start the PowerPoint. Can you pass me the paper with the assignment details?" she asked, pointing at the paper on the futon. He retrieved it and set it down on the desk where she sat. "So, we have to write a short persuasive speech, huh? That sounds easy enough," Alya commented and handed the paper back to Felix.</p><p>Marinette read the paper over his shoulder, "So, all three of us have to present together if we want credit, and we only have three minutes for our presentation." she noticed, "We can each do three slides if that's okay with you guys."</p><p>"That sounds good!"</p><p>"Yes, that's fine," he agreed.</p><p>"Mari, where's the bathroom?" Alya asked. She pointed downstairs. "It's the first door on the right downstairs," she answered, and Alya disappeared behind the trapdoor.</p><p>"Marinette?" he called, and she looked over at him, "Yeah? What is it?"</p><p>"About earlier," he started to say, "I'm sorry that I raised my voice at you after you saved that man. I don't know what I was thinking, I was out of line and I hope you can find it in you to forgive me."</p><p>She raised her eyebrows, "I totally understand, and, I would have done the same thing." she smiled, and rubbed the back of her neck, "...Thanks for worrying."</p><p>He averted his eyes and nodded, and before he could say anything else, Alya came back. "Sorry about that! I had to fix my earrings," she explained and took a seat in front of Marinette's computer. Felix pulled up a chair next to her, "I can present first, if you'd like," he offered.</p><p>________________</p><p>Felix's phone buzzed in his pocket, and when he checked it, he caught sight of the time. It was exactly five o'clock. A text message popped up on his screen: <em>I'm downstairs.</em></p><p>"My driver is here," he told his classmates, and Marinette nodded, "Bye, see you in class tomorrow!"</p><p>Downstairs, in front of the bakery waited his car. He climbed into the back seat, "Good evening," he greeted as he shut the car door, and his driver nodded. The drive home was always ridiculously short, as he lived a block away from school. He would walk there if he could, but of course, he wasn't allowed to do that either. He would also like to spare himself the embarrassment of walking to school with his bodyguard.</p><p>The car pulled into the garage, and Felix hurried to his room to change clothes.</p><p>He closed his bedroom door and tossed his phone on the bed, then grabbed his TV remote off his nightstand. As he came closer to the TV, his eye caught sight of a small toy on his coffee table. He picked it up and examined it. It seemed to be a bright green turtle with a disproportionately small body and large eyes. It stood on two legs, and the material it was made of was too soft to be plastic. "When did this get here?" he muttered to himself.</p><p>It blinked, "Hello, I'm Wayzz, it's nice to meet—"</p><p>Felix screamed, flinging it across the room.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. migraine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Just as the creature was about to hit the floor, it stopped in midair and floated towards Felix, contempt clear on his features. Felix took several steps back and opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.</p><p> </p><p>"I must have scared you, huh? Sorry about that. You weren't supposed to see me, I'm only here to deliver that." the turtle pointed at a small box sitting on the coffee table. "I must go now, as Master is waiting for me. Goodbye, Felix!" it told him and phased right through the window. It flew out of sight, and Felix was left there, frozen in place.</p><p> </p><p>He pinched his own arm and felt a flash of pain, confirming he wasn't dreaming. <em>Perfect</em>, <em>he was going mad. </em>After several minutes of contemplating the state of his sanity, his eyes were drawn to the box left on his coffee table. He hesitantly picked it up. It was about the size of his palm and had a red design painted on the lid.</p><p> </p><p>He traced his thumb over the lid, feeling the intricate carvings under his finger. The box resembled a box where you would find an engagement ring, or perhaps a pair of earrings.</p><p> </p><p>Setting it back down, he made his way to his walk-in-closet to change out of his uniform. There had to be some kind of logical explanation for all of this. He would have brushed it off as some kind of joke, but that didn't explain the levitating... thing and the way it could speak. If wasn't as there was anyone pull a joke on him, anyway.</p><p> </p><p>He looked through his ridiculously large wardrobe and found something he found to be appropriate: a grey button-up shirt with long sleeves and black dress pants, as well as a dark grey vest and tie. After getting dressed, he came down the stairs and went for the west wing, to the Agreste private library. The moment he pushed open the large mahogany doors and stepped inside, the motion-tracking lights flickered on.</p><p> </p><p>The bookshelves were so tall he would need to climb up a ladder to reach most of the books, though a large portion of the writing was either painfully boring or in a language Felix didn't understand. Nowadays, he would only come here to have his lessons, but he and his mother would spend time here when he was small.</p><p> </p><p>Having plenty of time before his tutor showed up, he decided to look through the bookshelves for nothing in particular. Most of the books he would be interested in, he'd already read front to cover, though. Just as he was about to pick a book from the self, a voice broke through the comfortable silence of the library.</p><p> </p><p>"Felix?" called out a female voice, and he looked towards its source. At the door stood a middle-aged woman, her dark hair pulled up into a ponytail.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm over here," he said back, coming over to the table they often used for their lessons. She smiled, "Alright, do you remember where we left off last week?" she asked, but didn't wait for an answer. She started her lecture, and he nodded along, asking questions as if the box in his bedroom wasn't the only thing on his mind. Every moment his tutor wasn't looking at him, Felix would be staring at the clock on the wall.</p><p> </p><p>An hour, Forty-five minutes, half-an-hour...</p><p> </p><p>The hands of the clock moved in slow-motion, every second he wasn't prying open that bloody box was almost physically painful. The last hour he'd been sitting here felt like the longest hour of his life. "Are you feeling alright?" his tutor asked, "You seem distracted today."</p><p> </p><p>"I have a migraine, is all," he lied with a pained expression, and she frowned. "Do you want to cut the lesson short so you can get some rest?" she asked, genuinely worried.</p><p> </p><p>"If that wouldn't be too much to ask," he replied, and she nodded. "We were done with most of the lesson, anyway." she assured him, and he nodded, "Then, I'll be getting some rest now,"</p><p> </p><p>The moment he was out of her sight, he rushed back to his room. He managed to keep his footsteps somewhat quiet on the marble floor as he made his way down the hallway. Just as he was about to reach his room, he detected the sound of a deep, male voice.</p><p> </p><p>He peered over the corner and caught sight of his father, who he hadn't seen in person in weeks. Gabriel refused to have dinner with his own son, instead, he would make someone bring his meals to his office. He would ignore Felix's calls, and the only way to contact him was by asking his assistant to deliver a message. Occasionally, Gabriel would grace his son with a minute-long video call, though those were becoming rarer and rarer. So obsessed and absorbed in his work, he wouldn't leave his office for days.</p><p> </p><p>But, there he was in the flesh, his blonde hair shining in the bright hallway lights as he walked beside his assistant, Natalie. They spoke in hushed tones, as if discussing something urgent they didn't want anyone else to hear. Listening in was impossible, as Felix would have to follow them and that would risk getting caught.</p><p> </p><p>He considered calling out, to get Gabriel to at least look at him. He was losing his only chance, and before Felix knew it, he called: "Wait!"</p><p> </p><p>But his father was already gone, and Felix was left alone in the hallway.</p><p> </p><p>When he stepped into his bedroom, he slammed the door so hard the mirror hanging on it fell and shattered, missing his foot by mere centimeters. He cursed and flicked the lights on, then stepped over the glass to the best of his ability. Already texting Natalie to get a maid to clean up, he stopped himself before sending <em>send</em>. His eyes landed on what sat on his coffee table.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Ah, the box.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>He tossed his phone aside and lifted the lid off, and as soon as he did, he shielded his eyes from a blinding light. When he opened his eyes, his heart caught in his throat. There, in midair, floated a small black creature with large green eyes, closely resembling Wayzzin appearance. It stretched and yawned, then looked at him as if expecting Felix to speak.</p><p> </p><p>"So, <em>this </em>is who the Guardian chose as the miraculous holder?" he scoffed, looking around the bedroom, "My master went from being a Roman general to being some rich little boy... what an upgrade. What are you, kid? Eleven?"</p><p> </p><p>"Sixteen." he corrected, but his voice decided to crack in that second. His face went red, and the creature had the nerve to <em>laugh </em>at him. "What... What <em>are </em>you, exactly?"</p><p> </p><p>"What <em>am </em>I? Rude, much?" he flew closer to Felix's face, "I'm a kwami, y'know?"</p><p> </p><p>He pushed the <em>kwami </em>away, "Some kind of bat, are you?"</p><p> </p><p>The creature looked genuinely offended, "I'm a cat, actually," he flashed his razor-sharp teeth, "Name's Plagg, nice to meet ya, uh..?" he waited for Felix to introduce himself, but he was too busy voicing the thousands of questions running through his mind.</p><p> </p><p>"What do you want from me? Why were you in that box, and what was that flashing light? How can you... How can you fly? And— And speak?" he demanded, and 'Plagg' rolled his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>"<em>'</em>Doesn't matter." Plagg told him, "All you need to know right now is that this," he pointed to the box, where a silver ring lay, "Is a <em>miraculous</em>, and when you put it on, you gain the power of destruction. All you have to say is 'cataclysm'."</p><p> </p><p>"The power of destruction." he repeated in a monotone voice, eyebrows raised, "So, let me get this straight: you're my fairy godmother, this is a magical ring, and—"</p><p> </p><p>Plagg sighed, "Just put the ring on."</p><p> </p><p>He slipped the ring on his finger, but nothing happened. He looked at Plagg and narrowed his eyes, "Are you mocking me?"</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, you have to say 'Claws out' if you want to transform." he pointed out, and before he could add anything else, Felix said, "<em>'</em>Claws out'? That's a bit—" he fell backward, and in a flash of green light, his button-up shirt and dress pants were replaced by a black suit resembling what a superhero would wear. Did this make him a superhero? It wasn't like if he was saving anyone from anything...</p><p> </p><p>"Plagg?" he called, but didn't get an answer. The kwami was nowhere to be found, as if he vanished in thin air.</p><p> </p><p>He turned to the mirror and brought his hand to his face. He was wearing a black mask that covered the surrounding area of his eyes, as well as a bit of his nose. There was <em>no way </em>he wouldn't get recognized. He was very obviously himself.</p><p> </p><p>His hair was all messy, but still managed to look somewhat good. Leather cat ears stuck out of his hair, and a bell hung from the zipper of his suit. The zipper went down to his collarbone, and wouldn't move when he tried to pull it up all the way. He huffed in frustration and did a little turn in front of the mirror. <em>That's when he caught sight of his tail.</em> The black leather belt around his waist did not only serve as a belt, but also seemed to work as if it were a tail. He scowled and immediately realized, in horror, that his canine teeth were sharp like a cat's, and that his leather ears drooped when he was upset.</p><p> </p><p>He took the baton that was attached to his belt and examined it. He pressed his thumb on the green paw-print button and almost hit himself in the face. "I'll figure it out eventually," he decided and turned his gaze towards the bed. He swung the window open, and with the aid of his baton, he managed to get to the ground floor. After getting over the walls surrounding the Agreste Manor, he climbed up to the roofs of a nearby building, the only thing illuminating the streets were the starts and the dim lamp posts. He breathed in the fresh air, and for a moment, he was at peace.</p><p> </p><p>That is, until a girl in a spotted, bright-red suit flew into him.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. turn</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When the girl collided with him, The air knocked out of his lungs and they flew backward. He clutched his side, which had slammed into the corner of a chimney, and waited for the pain to settle in, but the feeling never came. It was as if the suit had absorbed the impact, but that was practically impossible.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The girl got to her feet in a second, and clasped a hand over her mouth, "I am so sorry," she told him, "I was trying to land on the roof. Are you alright? Did I hurt you?" she asked, and offered a hand to help him up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He got to his feet by himself, "<em>How</em> did you do that?" he demanded, and she gave him a sheepish smile. She pulled at a string in her hand, and a yo-yo came flying at her. She caught it in one hand, "It's a... very long story."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She was a fair-eyed girl around his age, perhaps a bit younger judging by the height difference, though that wasn't a great indicator of one's age. Her dark hair was pulled back into two twin-tails, and she wore a domino mask very much like his own. The bodysuit she wore was a vibrant red, and black spots were symmetrically arranged on the suit, vaguely reminiscent of a ladybug's spots.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Unlike his suit, hers didn't have a zipper, and it covered her from neck to toe. "And why are you dressed like that?" he asked, trying to maintain his balance on the roof tiles. "Why were you trying to land on the roof?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Haven't you seen the news?" before she could explain any further, she stopped herself. "Wait!" He sucked in a breath.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Of course, somebody recognized him.</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"...What is it?" he asked,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You're the holder of the black cat miraculous," she said, as if only now realizing he was dressed in a cat costume. She studied his expression, searching for a reaction, "I'm your partner, Ladybug."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Partner?" he repeated, eyebrows raised, "What are you talking about?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I'm... the holder of the ladybug miraculous?" she told him, as if he already knew that, "Where have you been for the past hour and a half? I've been looking everywhere for you."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I don't have a partner," he told her, "Surely, Plagg would have told me if I had one,"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Your kwami... didn't tell you about me." she realized aloud, and he slowly shook his head. "That's why you weren't at the akuma attack today."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I don't have the slightest idea what you're going on about,"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I guess I’m going to have to explain, then.” she held out her hand, and he shook it, “I’m Ladybug, your partner. well— at least, that’s what people were calling me. Tikki, my kwami, said not to tell you my real name,” she said to him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Though there were a million questions he wanted to voice, he managed to get a comment out. “I still don’t know what you mean by ‘partner’.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She frowned, “Your kwami really didn’t explain anything, huh? Well, You were given your miraculous for a reason. You’re a protector of Paris, like me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He crossed his arms, "Excuse me?" </p>
<p> </p>
<p>A raised finger pointed at her own spotted earrings, "I guess that makes us superheroes,”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>An involuntary laugh left his lips. Even though he'd seen a kwami with his own two eyes—even though he had transformed, he couldn't quite… wrap his head around this entire thing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Me? A superhero?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The word 'superhero' implied the existence of danger, of something to protect Paris from. Anxiety bubbled in his chest, and he had half a mind to walk away.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>How absurd, the universe had chosen <em>him</em> of all people to bestow these powers upon. <em>Him</em>, who was only recently allowed to go to school in person.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I'm… not sure about this either," she admitted, as if reading his mind.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The black ring around his finger glowed in the dark of the night, his chance to escape the immense pressure of his family name was right there, calling for him. "<em>'Ladybug'</em>, was it?" the corners of his lips quirked up, "It's a pleasure to meet you. You told me not to tell you my real name, but I'm afraid I didn't come prepared with a superhero name."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"No worries," Ladybug said with a smile, "And, it's a pleasure to meet you too," Her eyes landed on the baton in his hand, "Is that your weapon?" she asked, and he handed it over.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In less than a minute, she had it figured out. Apparently, The green paw button was supposed to extend the baton, and it could be used as a blunt instrument. He nodded along to her explanation, as if he had immediately figured it out as well.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>To be entirely honest, he wasn't sure what <em>the power of creation</em> was supposed to mean, nor, how, exactly, a yo-yo was supposed to be a weapon, but he figured he would eventually understand.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Well, now that I've found you, I better get home before anyone figures out I left." she told him, rubbing the back of her neck. He nodded, "I best head back, as well." he replied. He couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt for not helping her earlier today. She smiled and turned to leave.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ladybug hurled the yo-yo so far he thought the string had broken off. He waited for the string to end, but it didn't—it kept going and going until it latched onto something in the distance. She swung from one roof to another, almost too quickly for Felix to follow with his eyes. Once she turned the corner and disappeared from sight, Felix made his way home.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He scaled the side of the manor until he got to his bedroom window, which he had left ajar before he snuck out. He dropped into his bedroom, and his transformation fell.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As soon as he de-transformed, an exasperated sigh left his lips, <em>“Why didn’t you tell me I was a superhero?”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Plagg shrugged, "I might've gotten a little excited to transform." he admitted, which only made Felix scowl. "Can you really blame me for getting ahead of myself? I was in that box for hundreds of years!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Hundreds of years?" he tilted his head to the side, "How does that work?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I would explain, but I’m starving to death." Plagg said with a dramatic sigh, "If only there was a rich boy around with a personal chef…"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You are going to have to wait it out until tomorrow, the cook left for the day." he replied, and felt a sharp pain at his arm, "...Did you just bite me?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Camembert. Now." he whined, "Or I'll go downstairs and get it myself."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He dug through his nightstand drawer and summoned a granola bar. He threw it across the room, and it landed at Plagg's feet. After examining the wrapper in utter disgust, Plagg threw the granola bar at his master's face. "This expired four years ago! You weren't even born four years ago."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Felix made a face, "There is a considerable difference between four years old and sixteen years old.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The kwami huffed and settled down on a pillow, as if about to go to sleep. How was he able to keep sleeping after being unconscious for hundreds of years? "You can never get too much sleep," the kwami responded, as if reading his mind.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>His phone tossed all the way on the other side bed, Felix got into his pajamas and climbed into bed. The lights were off, and he was wrapped in a warm blanket. Just as he was falling asleep, his phone lit up. He groaned and squinted at it, the bright lights hurting his eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After typing in the password, the latest notification he'd gotten popped up on the screen. It was from his cousin, Adrien.<br/>"My mom said that you're going to a real schoooooool," the message said, followed by a smiley face emoji, "It's that one private school, right?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"That's not very specific." Felix replied.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"The one by the park! I don't remember the name, though…" he said with a crying emoji. "Too bad you didn't choose my school, instead… We could have been classmates."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Right." he typed, not wanting to explain he would rather eat dirt than go to the same school as Adrien. "How are you liking Paris?" he asked, "I heard you're moving back here with your mother."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I think I like it more than London…" Adrien admitted, "I still miss my old friends, but I've made lots of friends at my new school, and they’re all so nice! :D"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"That's great, Adrien." he wrote, a sigh leaving his lips. As soon as he hit 'send', Adrien sent another message. He decided he would reply another time, and took the opportunity to look through his other notifications.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Under a mountain of notifications, he spotted a text message from Marinette. It read: "I just emailed you the PowerPoint! You're presenting slides one and two!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Felix reluctantly crawled out of the comfort of his bed and took a seat at his desk.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thanks for reading ! i'm pretty active on the <a href="https://discord.gg/mlfanworks">miraculous fanworks server</a>, if you wanna come chat with us :)<br/>it's really fun, and everyone there is really nice ! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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